Surging Knicks easily top Hornets, 102-80

Carmelo Anthony about to slam home two of his game-high 29 points in Tuesday night's win over New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS — Someday soon, the Knicks may have to shift Carmelo Anthony back to his natural small forward spot to accommodate the return of Amar’e Stoudemire.

But for now, they just need to enjoy the show.

While he has been praised for his defense and all around play, there are nights he reminds you he’s one of the elite scorers in the game. And that was on display at New Orleans Arena.

Anthony took over the game early, outscoring the Hornets by himself in the first quarter and setting the tone for a one-sided win as the Knicks beat the Hornets, 102-80, to begin a three-game road trip that continues tonight in Dallas. The win improved the Knicks to an NBA-best 8-1 and marked the franchise’s best nine-game start since 1972-73, when it started 10-1.

“Honestly, I thought he was going for 50,” center Tyson Chandler said. “But then I realized that we were going to run away a little bit, so then I thought maybe 40. He had a hot hand. When you’re feeling it like that, it makes it tough on the defense.

Anthony’s night was over in the third quarter. He headed to the bench with a game-high 29 points, six rebounds and four assists. Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each chipped in 15 points, and the Knicks sent the starters to the bench early with a 19-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

“It could have been a great night,” Anthony said. “Who knows? It’s kind of hard to tell. I’m sure there will be nights like that again.”

Told that a Division III player scored 138 points — and shot 108 times — Tuesday, Anthony joked that he never could get that many shots up. On this night, he didn’t need to.

Anthony hit his first five shots and 11 minutes into the game already had 19 points as the Knicks took a 29-17 lead.

The Hornets played without their shot-blocking rookie, Anthony Davis, who was sidelined after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left ankle. They tried putting Al-Farouq Aminu on Anthony with no success, then tried Roger Mason Jr., Darius Miller and Lance Thomas.

“It’s fun, because you just kind of get him the ball and get out of the way,” Jason Kidd said. “He set the tempo. That’s what he’s been doing all season for us. He showed that tonight.”

“Ÿ’Melo’s an All-Star,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “He’s one of the top players in this league and he’s proving that this season so far. We’ve just got to continue to push him to play at that level.”

Just nine games into the season, his teammates were lobbying for MVP.

“Absolutely,” Chandler said. “He should be at the top of the MVP race right now. We’re playing the best basketball and it’s because of him.’’

A decision will have to be made on Anthony when Stoudemire returns from knee surgery — expected to be another two to three weeks — and Woodson hinted Tuesday he’s still of the same mind that Stoudemire will return to the starting lineup.

When told Anthony and Stoudemire have an overall losing record when in the lineup together, Woodson laughed.

“Is it an overall losing record with me as the coach?” he said, aware that the two are 8-2 since Woodson took over with both in the lineup. “I can’t think about what happened before I took over. As a coach, I feel good about both of them playing together.’’